Seeing Double
by SugarIsHEALTHY
Summary: Jonas made it to Elsewhere. Or did he? He's not sure what's actually happening and what he's imagining. Warning: Kind of depressing ending.


**Hey, this is **_**another**_** ending for The Giver (actually, I don't know how many of them there are because I haven't read any of them… but I've seen a lot of them)**

**But, anyway, I had to write this for a school project and felt like posting it. So yea.**

**Oh and by the way, I haven't read the sequal, Gathering Blue (?) or whatever. Just though I'd put that out there.**

When Jonas once again became aware of his surroundings, the first thing he registered was the murmuring of people all around him. He squeezed his eyes shut tight and tried to recall what happened.

_Music._

Jonas' eyes flew open as he thought about the last few things he remembered. The lights. The joy. The happiness.

The _singing._

It took awhile for Jonas to adjust to the suddenly bright lights, but when he did, he blinked in surprise.

Many people were hovering over him, talking in hushed tones and looking at him in concern. When they saw his eyes open, much of the whispering increased excitedly and the group of people in front of him leaned back to give him some space.

Jonas slowly sat up, warily eyeing his company. He was surprised by what he saw.

Living in the community, Jonas grew used to everyone looking generally the same, even after he started seeing colors. Sure, they all had different characteristics, but the differences were never quite as extreme as this group.

With his memories faded, Jonas couldn't see much color. He could tell that the people all wore an array of colors. Their hair and eyes all seemed to be different shades of the grey that Jonas was used too. But now that he looked closer, he was beginning to see little hints of red, splashes of blue, and even drops of green.

Yet… they weren't completely there.

It was like before he received any memories at all. The colors constantly faded before he could grasp onto them.

This frustrated Jonas immensely. He could remember the vividness of color, yet he couldn't see it. It was like someone had dangled a cookie in front of him, only to snatch it away moments later, only worse. And he would know; that had been a memory that Jonas received from the Giver. Although, it was gone now.

Jonas was torn from his frustrations as a person in front of him started speaking.

"How do you feel?" She asked, concern etched into her features.

Jonas blinked before replying slowly, "Um, good I guess. Where am I? What happened?" He sat bolt upright as a thought struck him like lightning, startling the other occupants of the room.

"Where's Gabe? Where's the baby?" Jonas panicked, scanning the room for Gabriel.

As he searched, he noticed his surroundings. The room seemed to be like a normal hospital room, clean and white. But he didn't see Gabriel.

"It's okay; the child is alright," The woman soothed, handing Jonas a glass of water. He gulped it greedily, only now realizing how thirsty he was.

"So where am I?" Jonas asked again, setting the cup down.

The woman smiled at him. "This is-"

Then she flickered out of sight, along with the rest of the room.

The pristine white walls were suddenly replaced with the snowy white of storm clouds and flurries. Jonas could hear Gabe crying nearby, but couldn't see very far through the howling winds.

But before he could even move, he was back in the hospital room, the faces hovering over him.

"-Elsewhere," The woman finished, as if nothing had happened.

Jonas shook the image of the forest out of his head; certain it was just a hallucination. "So this is really Elsewhere? Who are you, then?"

"My name is Myra. As for who the rest of us are, you will learn the in time. But we are curious about your journey; we do not get many visitors from the Communities. What is your story Jonas?"

And he told them. He told them about the memories, the Giver, and their plan; too eager to share his burden to wonder how she knew his name, or to notice that another person had joined the small group, staring at him with wide eyes.

It was only when he finished that he turned to face very familiar pale eyes.

It was Jonas.

-:-

As he stared at himself, Jonas couldn't help but recall Lily's young voice, spinning a tale about how they were all twins and had a double in Elsewhere. They had laughed at her antics and then dismissed it from their minds, never thinking of it again.

He hoped she really would become a Storyteller.

Jonas only half heard as the other people explained how being released wasn't always a death sentence. Some of the people released did, in fact, go to Elsewhere.

He wanted to ask questions, but he never had the chance. The room disappeared once again, leaving him back in the forest.

And as he stared up at the murky grey sky, snowflakes landing silently on his fluttering eyelashes, Jonas wondered what was real and what wasn't.

But he would never find out.

His eyelids drifted closed.


End file.
